Dr. Richards at Vanderbilt

I was wondering if anyone has had Dr. Richards at Vanderbilt perform their surgery?  I was trying to get an appointment with Dr. Melvin but he was booked until the end of December so I figured Dr. Richards was next best.  I can't find any reviews on him and was wondering if anyone had any opinions about him.  thanks!!

Hello, I had my surgery with Dr. Richards last December.  I went in for Gastric and ended up getting the vertical sleeve.  He has been very professional and a great friend.  I would highly recommend him.  Several others on this site have also used him and I'm sure will give you a great response.  Hope you get the answers you are looking for.  Melissa

Hi I had Dr. Richards and his team for my RNY and follow up with them regularly. I can't say enough about their professionalism. Vanderbilt is World Wide recognized as a leader in research and education. They are constantly on the cutting edge of new technology as well as pioneers it a multitude of advance procedures. Dr. William O. Richards is the Chief of Surgery for the Vanderbilt Surgical Weight Loss Department you can't get any better then that. You've made a great choice. C'ya Bob

Dr. Richards knows his stuff.  He's one of the best there is and his staff is awesome. He is Chief of Staff of Vandy's Weight Loss Clinic, which speaks for itself.  I highly recommend him.

I have not had WLS, so I can not speak regarding Dr. Richrads and that standpoint.
What I can say is that Dr. Richards did perform a STRETTA procedure on my
father, totally improving the quality of his life!  Dad had for as long as I can remember
(40+ years), had the worst episodes of Reflux that I have ever seen.  (I have worked in
Health care for many years and have seen a lot)  After many surgeries, gastros and
a lifetime of treatment for GERD, my Dad was ready to give up on life.  LITERALLY--he said
he would rather die than go through another episode of the GERD attacks he would have.
He had been repeatedly hospitalized from developing pneumonia after aspirating gatric
fluids into his lungs during these attacks. Dr. Richards did this STRETTA procedure on
my 78 year old father and life has been so much better for him since that time.  He still
has RARE GERD attacks, and the severity is much less than before.

So--while I don't know much about his WLS skills, I do know that he was willing to take
the risk with an elderly patient and in doing so, he greatly improved the quality of my dad's life.
Dr. Richards has earned my trust as a  respected, competent, compassionate, caring
and professional individual.  I would trust him!

Carolyn~

Dr. Richards is great.  I started my WLS journey officially in Jan with Dr. Richards and VU.  I found him and his staff to be professional caring and so efficient from a time standpoint.  Unfortunately for me my company was bought and our insurance changed and WLS was no longer covered.  Dr. Richards had told me about VSG but explained it was a challenge to get insurance to pay for it.  Once I became self pay as much as I wanted to move forward with him I could not afford it.  So I elected to go to Mexico with Dr. Joya.  Dr. Joya was fabulous and I have had a great 3 months since surgery.  I lost 36 pounds prior to surgery and have since lost 59.  You are in great hands at VU and more specifically with Dr. Richards.  I have no idea what your BMI is but he has extensive experience with larger BMI's.  Good Luck on your journey.    My only regrets are not having my surgery years ago.

Thank you all for your responses.  I feel better now knowing that I am in good hands.  I feel like I have so many acronyms to learn.  I've figured out what WLS is...lol should have known that one at least huh.  I see Dr. Richards this Thursday for my initial visit so hopefully things will go well.  I hope everyone had a great holiday.